Mark Hoyle & Cecily Crampin discuss multinational enforcement of new judgments on old debts
Enforcing a judgment against fraudsters can be a long litigious battle, especially when the sums involved are large, and the fraudsters have the world in which to hide their assets.
A recent decision in the Commercial Court has sharpened a sword in the enforcement armoury. Although little known, it has long been law that a judgment creditor can sue on his debt within the limitation period to produce a new, enforceable judgment. Mr Justice Teare's decision in Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK & another v Al Bader & others [2008] EWHC 2432 (Comm), [2008] All ER (D) 165 (Oct) has demonstrated that this method is particularly appropriate in cases of fraud, especially when enforcement is a multinational pursuit.
The action in Kuwait Oil Tanker Company SAK v Al Bader has its origins in the Iran–Iraq war, and attacks by both countries on merchant shipping in the Gulf.
